Swan Hennessy

Born

24th November 1866

Died

26th October 1929

Swan Hennessy was an Irish-American composer and pianist who lived much of his life in Paris. Swan Hennessy wrote in an Impressionist style, often tending towards a late-romantic idiom. Many of his pieces with titles ending on terms like "celtique" or "irlandais" are inspired by Irish and Breton traditional folk melody, but he rarely quotes actual folktunes. Although he did not live in Brittany, he was a member of the Paris-based "Association des Compositeurs Bretons", with which he organised concerts. In a French obituary, he was called "le barde de l'Irlande" and is credited as having saved "l'ancienne mélodie celtique". He also incorporated humorous elements into his music: